Counting the Cost for 2012

So you’ve got your 2012 fitness goal clear. You know what you want. People ask you what your New Years Resolution for 2012 is and you tell them. Heck, you’ve probably been rehearsing it in your mind since you woke up from your Thanksgiving Day nappy noodle.

But how do you make sure your not one of those resolution wash outs that won’t even make it to Valentine’s Day? Here’s some tips to help you win.

Write it Down

Putting your ambitions on a piece of paper has the strange effect of taking out any vagueness and making the goal clear as crystal. But don’t just write down one sentence like “I want to fit back into my skinny jeans again, ” or “I want my biceps busting the sleeves of my shirt.” Put down as much detail as you can think of.

You don’t want to JUST fit into the skinny jeans again. You want to do so with tone shapely legs, no muffin top and toned arms, right? Or for you young muscle heads, you know that any clown can build up their arms pretty easy. You want a fuller picture than just big biceps, right? You want the whole shirt to fill out including your chest, shoulders, back and traps while maintaining a six pack and not having completely pencil thin legs, right?

I thought so.

Now that you’ve got the goal written down, guess what?

More Writing

Underneath your detailed well articulated fitness goal your going to write down a way to make it MEASURABLE. What that means is you’re going to set a target date of when you want to achieve your goal. It also means that on that date you’re going to be able to pull out a tape measure, or stop watch, or some other measuring device depending on your goal and record that you reached your goal.

Now listen those of you who won’t do this part because you’re afraid of not reaching the goal. DO IT ANYWAY. The bottom line is that even if your goal is out of reach when it clashes with reality you still will have gotten significantly closer to it MERELY BECAUSE YOU WROTE IT DOWN.

And now

Still More Writing

Underneath your Goal and Target Measures your going to start writing out the details of how you will get there. Don’t worry if you don’t feel like you know everything. Just start by writing down everything you do know. You’ll be surprised at how much you know and how much actually is within your immediate ability to start doing right away.

Just like the goal setting part, writing down the basic Steps takes them out of the muddled world of disorganized thought patterns and clearly puts them in the world of reality.

Now here is where many goal setters stop the process. In fact, you’re only about half done. A lot of people leave out the very important process of

Counting The Cost

Counting the cost is a marriage if you will. You’re going to marry your goal, it’s details and measurable components, with REALITY. It can be unpleasant, but quite frankly, it’s the major thing that separates the successful from the wash outs. Here’s how you do it:

Count the TIME Cost-
In my experience as a trainer, this is the number one thing that people underestimate. Consider the following:
* The time you’re going to need to set aside to exercise
* The time you’re going to need to get ready for and clean up after exercise
* The time you’re going to have to put into planning and preparing your meals
* The time you’re going to have to spend at the grocery store at least the first few weeks as you change your shopping patterns. Never forget, Good nutrition begins in the grocery store.

Count the FINANCIAL Cost
I don’t care what your goal is you’d better make up your mind that it’s going to cost you something. Something as in dollars and cents. Also, don’t be a Cheapy McCheappants. Go back to the top of your page where you have your goals and ask yourself, “How bad do I want it?” Think of it as a modest investment into a very necessary, helpful, long reaching change that will positive impact your life until the grave.

Anyway, here’s what to consider for your financial coasts:
* The cost of a gym membership
* The cost of home gym equipment if that’s your route. Here’s a tip: JOIN A GYM. Just make sure it’s one like this one.
* The cost of shopping for good whole foods (which will cost more and especially if you decide to go organic).
* The cost of professional service like a trainer.
* The cost of supplements.
* The cost of new clothes as your body begins to change. Seriously, I’ve seen people get caught off guard because they actually started getting results and they had to update their wardrobe unexpectedly. A great surprise, but a costly one.

Now What

In my experience, I’ve found that

People have time for what they want to have time for and have money for what they want to have money for.

So make a time and financial budget. Yup, more writing. Take both budgets seriously. I’ll predict that your success in your fitness goal is in direct proportion to how seriously you take those two budgets.

Once you have those budgets lined up then it’s just a matter of ticking of the How to steps that you did above.

Bottom line: Preparation is EVERYTHING.

Who do you know who needs to read this? Who came to mind? Please refer this to them via email/Facebook/however. That’s what the share links are for.

Comment below.

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2 Responses to “Counting the Cost for 2012”

1. blanton13 says:

   January 17, 2012 at 7:52 pm

   The wife and I are working on our budget and goals for the year. After reading this article, we had to go back in and make several adjustments. We budget everything! And making sure we include our health as a line item makes it that much easier to be consistent.

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   • Tim says:

     January 17, 2012 at 10:21 pm

     Thanks guys for checking in.